Following the discovery of phagocytic cells by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1882 these cells had been called clasmatocytes, polyblasts, reticular cells, and other terms: today we designate them as macrophages or histiocytes.

Dutra (1948) noted that in some cases, clasmatocytes (macrophages) could be seen surrounding fibrinoid material in alveoli, and these cells were sometimes fused to form multinucleated giant cells; others also noted occasional giant cells (Freiman and Hardy 1970).

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